Prince William's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, pose in front of Ayers Rock during their Down Under tour in March 1983. / Tim Graham Getty Images

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

Nostalgia swept the Down Under tour as Prince William and Duchess Kate posed in front of Australia's spectacular Uluru rock sentinel as the sun set in the desert Outback on Tuesday.

The scene under skies of deepening blue with the backdrop of the massive red rock glowing behind them evoked fond memories, especially for London's media, of Will's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, posing in the same area in front of what was then usually calledAyers Rock.

"As the cameras whirred away, it was hard not to compare the modern royal couple with iconic images of William's parents - Charles and Diana - at roughly the same spot 31 years ago," The Daily Mail reported under a huge picture of the prince and princess of Wales in March 1983.

Nothing had changed about the rock itself - still massive, still ancient, still mysterious - except its name and its management as a popular tourist and climbers destination that is also sacred to the local Aboriginal people.

It's called Uluru now because that is what they called it, long before the British arrived on the continent.

But the clothes had certainly changed, at least on the royal women. Kate was wearing an above-the-knee Hobbs dress in a gray-and-white checked pattern with a white belt and beige high-wedge espadrilles.

Diana, back in the day before she had become a fashion icon, was wearing a mid-calf-length white dress with a girlish puffy bodice and elbow sleeves with beige flats. And she carried a white purse on her shoulder.

For Will and Kate it was Day 16 of their three-week Down Under tour. They left Prince George behind with his nanny at Canberra for their visit to the Outback (as Charles and Diana had left Will behind with his nanny in 1983), which will include "glamping" at a luxury campsite on Tuesday night.

After flying in from Canberra, the national capital of Australia, in the morning, the couple first visited an academy where local indigenous people are trained to work in the tourist and resort industry near Uluru.

They also stopped at the Uluru Cultural Center in the national park in the area for an Aboriginal "Welcome to Country" ceremony that featured dancing and presentation of gifts, including a necklace for Kate and a carved shield for Will.

At Uluru, they hiked a bit at the base of the rock, accompanied by an Aboriginal guide, and stopped at a water hole where they were left alone for a few minutes - no guides, bodyguards, aides and definitely no media.

Their tour of New Zealand and Australia is scheduled to end Friday when they return to London.